Amy Coney Barrett begins Supreme Court confirmation hearing

Here are highlights of how both sides set the stage for questioning.

The high-stakes confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, got underway Monday as Senate Republicans push for a final vote before Election Day despite Democratic calls to let voters decide who should pick a new justice.

Trump nominated Barrett to fill the seat left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The four days of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, overseen by chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, are unprecedented, with some members participating virtually and in-person. Barrett will appear at the witness table to face questions each day.

Hearings start at 9 a.m. each day and will be live streamed on ABC News Live.

Barrett, 48, a devout Roman Catholic, was a law clerk to conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, considers him her mentor and follows his originalist interpretation of the Constitution. She practiced law at a Washington firm for two years before returning to her alma mater, Notre Dame Law School, to teach. She was nominated by Trump to the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May 2017 and confirmed by the Senate that October in a 55-43 vote.


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Hirono raises own battle with cancer to appeal to GOP colleagues on health care stakes

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, again emphasized the Democratic attack line: what she called the “devastating” threat Judge Barrett poses to health care of millions of Americans if she’s confirmed, recalling the stories of her constituents who rely on the Affordable Care Act.

“President Trump has been very clear about what he's doing. He's promised to appoint Supreme Court justices, who will strike down the ACA,” Hirono said. “Judge Barrett is keeping her promise.”

“They are confident that victory at the Supreme Court is now within their grasp if the Senate confirms Judge Barrett through this hypocritical, illegitimate process,” she said, before recalling the importance of health care access in her own life.

“To Kimberly, Dean, Jordan and personal to me, too, because I know that having health insurance and access to health care saved my life,” said the kidney cancer survivor. “The Affordable Care Act provided this peace of mind for so many people over the years who found themselves in positions similar to mine. Their lives and health are what's at stake. Their lives are what's at stake with the nomination."

She ended with an emotional appeal to Graham and her Republican colleagues.

“This can be a moment, Mr. Chairman, for you, and your Republican colleagues to show the American people -- terrified about losing their health care -- the same care and compassion you showed me and continued to show me, when I was diagnosed with cancer,” she said. “Let's end this hypocritical, illegitimate hearing, and return to the urgent work we have before us, to help those suffering.”


Senate Judiciary Committee resumes hearing 

After a short break, the hearing resumed around 12:20 p.m.


Here’s the breakdown for the rest of the day:

The remaining six senators on the committee who have not spoken will deliver their 10-minute opening statements. Then, Judge Barretts’ two home state senators, Republican Sens. Mike Braun and Todd Young of Indiana, and the former dean of Notre Dame Law School who hired her, Patricia O'Hara, will have five minutes each to introduce her.

Finally, Graham will swear Barrett in, and she will deliver her opening statement to the committee.

-ABC News’ Trish Turner


Biden says Barrett's faith 'should not be considered'

As he boarded his plane to Ohio this morning, former Vice President Joe Biden was asked whether Democrats should raise Barrett’s faith in her confirmation hearings.

“No, her faith should not be considered,” Biden, also a practicing Catholic, told reporters.

"This nominee said she wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, the president wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act,” Biden said.

“Let's keep our eye on the ball. This is about whether or not in one -- less than one month, Americans are going to lose their health insurance,” Biden said.

--Molly Nagle and John Verhovek


Blumenthal tells Barrett: 'You must recuse yourself' from any election-related cases

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he was “deeply concerned” that the Supreme Court is losing the trust of the American people. He called on Barrett to recuse herself from any election-related cases as the president sows doubts in the results of the election alongside her confirmation process.

“Now President Trump and the Republican senators are eroding and indeed destroying that legitimacy,” Blumenthal said, speaking of the court.

“Your participation in any case involving Donald Trump's election would immediately do explosive, enduring harm to the court's legitimacy and to your own credibility. You must recuse yourself,” Blumenthal continued. “The American people are afraid and they are and for good reason. It is a break-the-glass moment.”

He had noted earlier that Barrett had “auditioned'' for the job through her academic writings and judicial opinions that suggest she would have voted to strike down the Affordable Care Act had she been a justice at the time.

Blumenthal also made clear he will oppose her nomination which he sees as being “about the Republican goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act, the Obamacare they seem to detest so much.”


Supreme Court begins new term as Barrett hearings set to begin

The U.S. Supreme Court begins a new term on Monday amidst a raging political battle over an open seat and a high-stakes push by President Donald Trump to have the justices adjudicate a possible contested election.

"Lurking in the background is the possibility this could become the most tumultuous and divisive term since the Supreme Court decided Bush v. Gore 20 years ago," said Irving Gornstein, executive director of the Supreme Court Institute at Georgetown University.

The court will convene as a panel of eight for the first time since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as they await confirmation of Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett, hearing oral arguments via teleconference that will be livestreamed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The justices face a fall docket of cases with implications for millions of American families and some of the nation's biggest businesses. They'll address matters of health insurance, use of force by police, military rape claims, religious freedom, grand jury secrecy, robocalls and faith-based foster care.

At the top of the list is a challenge to the Affordable Care Act brought by Texas and 18 Republican-led states backed by the Trump administration to completely invalidate the law, including protections for people with preexisting conditions. It will be argued Nov. 10 and decided by the end of June 2021.

"The stakes of this case have become only higher amidst the global pandemic. One estimate suggests there are 20 million people taking advantage of the exchanges," said University of Chicago law professor Jennifer Nou.

More on other key questions the court will consider this term can be found here.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer